Arts Council presents: Art in the Alley

I am forwarding this from our Executive Director!

Hello Artist, and Art Lovers

Discover Art in the Alley, an outdoor arts market, the 3rd Thursday in April, May, and June from 5-8pm in Downtown Visalia’s Garden Street Plaza and alleyway connected to the Visalia Farmers Market.

This community event features local artists from throughout the Valley, live music, and children’s activities. Come out to enjoy Visalia’s beautiful springtime evenings and support the arts. Then stop by the Farmers Market, open every Thursday, to pick up the freshest best tasting produce, gourmet products, and handmade crafts available.

This is a free event, open to the public. Hosted by Art Council of Tulare County. Interested artists contact David Castro 625-1520 david@acoftc.org.

Attached are the Artists Entry form, if you or someone you know is interested in displaying work please read and mail in.

Also Attached is the Sponsor Packet, if you are interested in supporting Art in the Alley and the Arts Council of Tulare County, a non-profit organization. Please let us know.

**contact David for entry forms and packets david@acoftc.org **

Thanks
David Castro
625 1520

Jesus served me today?

Okay so I was going through my receipts, and packing up my 2009 tax folder for storage, when I came across a receipt that made me fall on the floor laughing.  It is from Walgreens, it is a feel good customer service phrase that also tells you who the cashier was.  Mine reads...

I'm JESUS. Thank you for allowing me to serve you today

Exactly like that too, with JESUS all in caps.  I still haven't recovered from it, and giggle as I type.  Now you have to think what a fun name to have, and this guy probably hears alot about this.  Which is probably why the good Lord allowed me to miss that little gem.  After all I am my fathers daughter, bad jokes and all.

At first I was thinking... that must be a real switch for Jesus (not walgreen's jesus) to serve us.  And I thought well maybe not.  I mean sure we are here to serve him, but how often has he served us, I can't tell you how many times that my butt was saved and the first thought was "thank you god, or wooo Lord that was a close one, thanks for that"  Or blessings that I have credited to God.  Is that a way of Jesus serving us in a sense...

And here's another thought, this one is for pastors cardiologist 8) cause I remembered something and could actually find it in the bible, he tells us this story in the bible:

Jesus Washes His Disciples' Feet

² The evening meal was in progress, and the devil had already prompted Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus. ³ Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; ⁴ so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. ⁵ After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples' feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.⁶ He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, "Lord, are you going to wash my feet?" ⁷ Jesus replied, "You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand." ⁸ "No," said Peter, "you shall never wash my feet."  Jesus answered, "Unless I wash you, you have no part with me." ⁹ "Then, Lord," Simon Peter replied, "not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!" ¹⁰ Jesus answered, "Those who have had a bath need only to wash their feet; their whole body is clean. And you are clean, though not every one of you." ¹¹ For he knew who was going to betray him, and that was why he said not every one was clean.  ¹² When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. "Do you understand what I have done for you?" he asked them. ¹³ "You call me 'Teacher' and 'Lord,' and rightly so, for that is what I am. ¹⁴ Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another's feet. ¹⁵ I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. ¹⁶ Very truly I tell you, servants are not greater than their master, nor are messengers greater than the one who sent them. ¹⁷ Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.

If Jesus serves us, then how can we not consider serving each other, or blessing each other.  So how can I do that, I think that it is more than just writing a check, not to discount that, because if I don't write a check then things don't get done at church and shelters, that I am not capable of doing, like jackets to kids in thailand, or food at the local shelter, or even paying those fabulous people at church who listen to me when all hell breaks lose... again!

But how else can I serve/bless/support someone.  Maybe just by listening to someone in need, drop off a bag of groceries for someone and run off before they see you, volunteering at an organization religious or otherwise, just offering a helping hand and being there to fill a need.  Kind of the ultimate pay it forward from God right...




i'm just sayin'

A taco without cheese!!!!!

So yesterday, I was at Taco Bell, and they have all these signs up with this incredibly scrawny chick, describing her 50 pound weight loss with her "drive thru diet" I was thinking to myself, how incredibly fat I felt at the moment. Of course they made a life size version of her next to the line. Now as you may have remembered I had been on a challenge and had lost some weight, the bad news is, when the challenge stopped, I also stopped challenging myself. I let myself go back to the old excuses using my pain issues, time, family, etc. The good news is I still remembered the things I learned, and have not gained, my pants size is still the same too. I'll take that.

However, As I was standing there I realized I need to push myself. So I ordered the Chicken Ranchero soft taco, it has something like 140 calories and minimal fat I think about 9 grams. Now this taco has only chicken, lettuce, salsa... thats it nothing else, no cheese, sour cream, yummy red sauce, nothing!!! You see, when I order say a bean burrito, I get extra cheese, extra sauce, and easy on the beans, so everything fits.... that means I raised the calories from 370 to 410 and the fat from 9 to 12! Thats just the burrito, interestingly the fiesta bean burrito is 340/8 so not much off from the regular item.

So does this new fresco menu release us from checking labels and making thought out decisions... no, while researching this article, I learned that, Christine aka... scrawny chick (I can't wait till one day I am scrawny chick) has a favorite, or so says all the marketing for this newish menu, and that is what I ordered the Chicken Ranchero soft taco. According to the theTaco Bell Nutrition Calculator which is awesome, the Fiesta version is 170 calories to 4 grams of fat while the regular version is 270/14. I think that is pretty significant a difference.

Now this thing was pretty good, surprisingly! Once I mentally got over the cheese hang up, I enjoyed the flavor of it. So it is something I will order again, and again. And the nutrition calendar was pretty easy to use, and you can customize it to include all the special things you do to it. So check that out for sure, just not on your iphone while you are at the counter ordering, cause that would stink for everyone else... just sayin'

Back in the Day

Here is a video that an old buddy of mine from my days in the United States Marine Corp (wow... that makes me sound like a REALLY OLD MAN, which I am not... a man that is!). The video is pretty fantabulous!

This video represents what he is doing now.

Your Cleaning Lady product review

On a recent shopping trip I was looking for steel wool pads. I was just about to grab my usual box, when I saw a new one by Scotch Brite Never Rust Soap Pads they look just like steel wool but they are made of plastic. My first reaction was... so what, plastic scrubbies never work for the real cleaning jobs. But I thought I should try it, to know for sure.

When I got home I opened it up, they look the same except for they are blue. I set out on my quest and grabbed my cast iron skillet from last nights dinner, I had burnt some taco meat into it, and was just too tired/lazy to look at it. I brought it over to the sink added water and started scrubbing. And WHOA! It was coming right out fairly easily too! Amazed I ran place to place, scrubbing, it is pretty good stuff, it even worked on old soap scum.

I am still nervous about using it on things like metal sinks, or scratch sensitive areas, but otherwise A+ for sure. My favorite part of this is it is made from recycled material... specifically, the pad fiber is 100% recycled (100% post-consumer material) and the box is 100% recycled (35% post-consumer material). So it is also good for the environment.

I found mine at the 99 cents store, however they are in new packaging in many stores, hardware stores, and online

this blog is in no way associated with Scotch Brite its company and its affiliates.... its just a review ya'll

The power of cash... another day at Financial Peace

Why do you think cash carries so much power when you’re looking for a bargain?

Though I don't have a particular moment that sticks out in my head from my personal experience where I was the purchaser; I do however remember my cash customers.

When we had the glass shop store front, we decided not to carry credit card, which some tell us they would have been able to purchase alot more glass. But it was a personal decision long before Dave Ramsey, that was stimulated because of our discontent with credit card fees etc. Even then, when a customer came in with cash rather check, there was a feeling of security. Because cash is solid. Cash doesn't bounce or come back as fraudulent, well as long as you have one of those nifty pens, and it doesn't get a hold put on it.

It also helps purchases move faster to, no waiting periods or wondering if it will go through. Cash is trustful, because credit may be good but temporary, at any time decisions can be made and payments put on hold, and lets face it when we can't make a payment, it doesn't really matter how many fees are added on... it still stinks.

The other nice thing about cash is that it is a way to stay within the perimeters of spending. If you can really tell yourself and believe that $20 is all I have for this purchase, because your looking at a $20 bill and dust in the wallet, then 1 of 2 things will happen; if you really want it you will negotiate or find it for that price, or 2 you will just have to wait.

... and waiting doesn't kill you and neither does negotiating!

A taco without cheese!!!!!

So yesterday, I was at Taco Bell, and they have all these signs up with this incredibly scrawny chick, describing her 50 pound weight loss with her "drive thru diet" I was thinking to myself, how incredibly fat I felt at the moment. Of course they made a life size version of her next to the line. Now as you may have remembered I had been on a challenge and had lost some weight, the bad news is, when the challenge stopped, I also stopped challenging myself. I let myself go back to the old excuses using my pain issues, time, family, etc. The good news is I still remembered the things I learned, and have not gained, my pants size is still the same too. I'll take that.

However, As I was standing there I realized I need to push myself. So I ordered the Chicken Ranchero soft taco, it has something like 140 calories and minimal fat I think about 9 grams. Now this taco has only chicken, lettuce, salsa... thats it nothing else, no cheese, sour cream, yummy red sauce, nothing!!! You see, when I order say a bean burrito, I get extra cheese, extra sauce, and easy on the beans, so everything fits.... that means I raised the calories from 370 to 410 and the fat from 9 to 12! Thats just the burrito, interestingly the fiesta bean burrito is 340/8 so not much off from the regular item.

So does this new fresco menu release us from checking labels and making thought out decisions... no, while researching this article, I learned that, Christine aka... scrawny chick (I can't wait till one day I am scrawny chick) has a favorite, or so says all the marketing for this newish menu, and that is what I ordered the Chicken Ranchero soft taco. According to the the Taco Bell Nutrition Calculator which is awesome, the Fiesta version is 170 calories to 4 grams of fat while the regular version is 270/14. I think that is pretty significant a difference.

Now this thing was pretty good, surprisingly! Once I mentally got over the cheese hang up, I enjoyed the flavor of it. So it is something I will order again, and again. And the nutrition calendar was pretty easy to use, and you can customize it to include all the special things you do to it. So check that out for sure, just not on your iphone while you are at the counter ordering, cause that would stink for everyone else... just sayin'

Insurance

This whole insurance thing scares so me... how do you know what to get. And life insurance is just really insane, because of my disabilities, and other factors, it is high. Right now it is too high while we are paying off bills so I am trying to find alternatives.

I was looking at Mortgage insurance but it is kindof a rip off, because the monthly fee never goes down but the value of the policy goes down. But maybe it would be okay for the short term. I hate to waste money, but I am afraid to go on any further and be not covered. So today I am going to call in to the Dave Ramsey radio show and get his opinion on this. I will update this this afternoon....

End of the year Donations

Science department faces budget cuts...
Due to budget restraints, Math classes are being slashed by over 50%...
Football, water polo, and tennis to be cut from 2010/2011 school budget...

Just imagine if these were the headlines you were reading instead! What would you do?

The fact remains that most of us think of art as recreation, or hobbies, but we don’t think of it as necessity. I always believed that the those in the educational departments felt that way as well. With art being the first to go when budget cuts come down. So I was surprised when I came across a letter from the U.S. Secretary of Education to the School and Education Community leaders at the beginning of the school year:

"At this time when you are making critical and far-reaching budget and program decisions for the upcoming school year, I write to bring to your attention the importance of the arts as a core academic subject and part of a complete education for all students. The Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) defines the arts as a core subject, and the arts play a significant role in children's development and learning process... “The arts can help students become tenacious, team-oriented problem solvers who are confident and able to think creatively," he stated. "These qualities can be especially important in improving learning among students from economically disadvantaged circumstances. "

I was shocked to learn that based on studies produced by the national Arts Education Partnership, the President's Committee on the Arts and theHumanities, the GE Fund, and the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation:

82.6% of 8th graders earned mostly As and Bs who were involved heavily in fine arts

30.07% of the respondents who participate in fine arts performs community service where only 6.28% of the respondents who do not participate in fine arts perform community service.

Students who are not heavily involved in fine arts have more than double the chance of dropping out of school by the 10th grade.

Sadly these cuts have come to pass, and are still to come, so how do get our children access to art? What can we do to give our children every opportunity to grow and experience a well rounded education that utilizes all subjects including art. Arts Council of Tulare County, they offer community events and art programs that raise awareness of the importance of arts, organize art based venues, offer support to local artists, and bring art into our classrooms.

The Art in Education program sends local artists into the schools; educating students in art through demonstrations, performances, and hands on art creation. A program that reaches an average 14 school districts, 26 schools, impacting 4670 students a year.

First Friday Art Tour and Art in the Alley are brand new venues to the valley reaching hundreds of people each night during their seasons. While still maintaining the Tulare County Fair, and the Art Hang in the Visalia Convention Center.

You can help in many ways, you may choose to sponsor an event, or simply pledge $20 and support art education. Either way the Arts Council is appreciative of your support of any size.

To give a year-end donation, contact the Executive Director David Castro, at 559-625-1520 or David@acoftc.org. If you are not in my area, then consider locating your local Arts Council and lending your support!

Thank you!

Christmas... Dave Ramsey style!

Its a Dave Ramsey Christmas... but this year we did decide to squeeze out a few gifts for the kids and for parents who lived in the area, no shipping this year. Our budget is a shocking $5 per person. I knew that this was crazy, cut somehow it was doable. Now I know what you are thinking... $5 why bother. The hardest part is getting past the idea that you are only spending $5 on a person, I mean mentally that is really, really hard, but doable. I think that even if they did find out that your budget is the size of a pea, that they don't really care, and if they found out you are trying to pay off your bills and be debt free they still wouldn't care. They would probably even be excited and or proud of your endeavors.

I decided that if I was going to work with this budget, I was going to have to really flex the creative muscle. First I put everyone's money in envelopes so I wouldn't go over at all. The hardest part was putting things back when I new even with taxes I wouldn't have it. Seperate envelopes would have been much easier because I was more tempted to over spend, using a seperate envelope would have helped me mentally, you know "self.... there is really on $5 in there so you have to choose between bath salts or candle to go with the bubbles and lotion"

Another key to this was to not just blanket shop. I knew that I didn't want to just pull out my printing block and make 30 prints of a christmas scene, or crochet a bunch of doilies. I wanted to let each person know that we were thinking of them individually, personalize it.

So my daughter and I headed out to shop. Now for the girls it was easy. For my mother-in-law who just moved into a new apartment I made a basket of bubbles, candles, pretty soap very easy, and at the good ole' dollar store, very cheap, but shockingly nice. I found a beautiful necklace at target on clearance, for my niece who is a teenager now and rolls her eyes alot... in fact I am sure that just now as I write this she just rolled her eyes and doesn't even know why. Michaels had 80 piece art kits on super sale $2 each and at this point the younger kids just know that their aunty loves art and that is just what they are going to get. I got a larger art kit for my nephew, it has some pastels in it. I decided that I was going to print some online lessons to include with it, and go to walmart and get a couple of packs of their cheapy copy paper, I use it for alot of practice drawing or trying out new techniques or supplies 500 sheets for $2 is great to add into their kits for practically nothing each.

I was lamenting over what to get for my father-in-law for christmas, the budget was only $8... normal budget was only $5 but I was under budget on some others (if you can believe that) and was able to increase here. Still it was hard. So it hit me on the way out the door when I was checking the time... he likes tools. A tool clock. So I went to micheals with my 50% coupon and paid only $3.50 for battery operated clock mechanics that comes with the arms and everything. Then I stopped at Harbor Freight and found the cheapest circular saw blade I could find right about $3. Then I picked up a little pack of washers, I was lucky to find a small container with mulitple sizes.. including very large, like a half dollar. I went home and started assembly. Fumbling through, ad-libing, and using washers to make hole smaller and a couple of smaller ones to fit inside the hole so it won't wiggle, (my husbands idea). And a sharpie to write in the numbers, they have number kits you can buy but I thought that a sharpie was just as good. And as it turns out there are a ton of instructions online for these... so google it!

Also another gift I made that is was perfect was for my other mother-in-law. Her kitchen decor is apples, so at Michael's my daughters mission was to find an apple stamp, and not only did she do that but she said look mom this one is only $1 so we can get this cute house too, its also $1! Love that kiddo... so we got that some ink, some felt, and went next door to Lowes and bought 4 tiles. We stamped them, glued little felt squares on the four corners, and I am going to use hairspray cause I forgot to buy spray fixative. Great gift, a project I found online also.

So this is how christmas went this year, I didn't list everything but I think you get the picture. Though I have not seen the results yet, I do believe it will go well.

Merry Christmas!